This winter is stretching more than just patience as
municipalities in both the Lehigh Valley
and northwest New Jersey scramble
to adjust budgets to cope with the relentless snow and ice.

"Our budgets and supplies are basically kaput," said Bethlehem
Public Works Director Mike Alkhal. "We've certainly been really stretched out."

After several consecutive winters without significant ice and
snow, this year's accumulation seems especially dramatic. So far, according to
the National Weather Service at Mount Holly, N.J.,
accumulation in the area — as measured at Lehigh
Valley International
Airport outside Allentown
— is 41.9 inches.

Alkhal blames karma.

"We've had two very mild winters, so really, we're just paying
the piper," he said.

Bethlehem has had to add about $150,000 onto its $450,000
dedicated for snow removal operations — that's taking into account both
overtime and the cost for salt and other supplies, according to Alkhal. Even with the bump in funding, he said, the city is again
close to depleting that figure.

The roads, which take a beating during a winter with heavy
snow and temperatures fluctuating in and out of single digits, might be what
suffers as a result, Alkhal said. If more money needs to be moved around, it would
likely come from funds set aside for road maintenance.

"Those can't, quite honestly, afford to get hit," he said. "The
last thing you want is for those to get hammered."

But with months of winter still ahead — not even including
November and December — Alkhal said there might be no other option.

Numbers add up

In Easton, a
flexible budget is also what helps the city handle a harsh winter, according to
Mayor Sal Panto Jr. So far, the city has benefited from a worst-case
scenario budgeting philosophy, Panto said.

"We have not overspent our budget yet. It really depends on the
rest of the winter," Panto said. "We really try to budget based on the worst
and hope for the best. This winter, we're seeing the worst."

Easton has
budgeted $90,000 for salt this year and has about one-third of the 3,000 tons
of salt purchased remaining, according to Panto. He said the highway department
has roughly $45,000 reserved for overtime and has spent about half of that to
date.

The mayor said the city is ready to make adjustments if Old Man Winter doesn't provide some mercy soon.

"Our budget is very fluid," Panto said.

In New Jersey,
the budget struggle is different. Warren
County towns are formulating
their 2014 budgets now. While that can mean they have a little more insight
into what to expect this year, it can put more of a squeeze on other sections
in the budget, according to Phillipsburg Mayor Harry Wyant Jr.

"It's been terrible," he said of this winter. "The overtime
has been horrendous, and we're not even close to being over with the season."

The town has already used about 1,200 tons of salt, Wyant
said, and with salt at $60 a ton, the temporary budget has taken a beating. A
salt shed built two years ago had a decent stockpile over several
mild winters, but the reserves didn't last long this season, he said. Wyant
estimates the public works budget will end up doubling what was allocated in
2013, but he wasn't ready to provide figures just yet.

Silver linings

A large salt shed in Hackettstown, capable of holding about
1,600 tons, has been a lifesaver, according to town administrator
William Kuster.

The size of the shelter, erected about a decade ago, was the
butt of many jokes over the years, but no one is laughing now, Kuster said.

"At least this year — it's really paying off," he said.

The town has been stowing away salt over milder
winters when the public works budget allowed for a little spending at the end
of the year, according to Kuster. Though he expects there will be salt orders
soon, he said the stockpile available now is expected to last for roughly six
more storms.

"We're not in a situation where the cupboard's bare," Kuster said.
"We're fortunate in that."

Kuster said the fact that many storms have hit during the
regular operating hours has helped keep overtime costs from becoming completely
unbearable.

It's likely that years of gentle winters have softened us,
according to Wyant.

"You do get spoiled," he said. He paused and added, "But
really, we've not had anything like this year in a while."

Don't expect public works departments to have any lingering
fondness for the season, either. Alkhal said fighting the elements is only a
part of it. Budgeting, ordering supplies and scheduling workers to fight the
winter weather can be just as aggravating, he said.